We are making a lot of progress on ArtRave and at the ArtRaveSuperCenter~!

In anticipation of our platform upgrade, many things have been necessary to do in the background here at ArtRave~

Many of our links and important notes & pages were ‘stand alone’ pages, from the back office that I learned to use after initially converting the site to become a promotional network.

As i learned new ways to promote our art and shops I added them in and altered the home page accordingly with new links and links to links and so on,

Well that worked except there was no way of indexing those pages easily nor would they themselves integrate which meant – groups – . I have long been using the groups function of the platform to create groups designed for free art advertising by subjects & price range. I also used groups function to begin enhanced Boutiques for specific artists.

The concept was there all along.In the eary days of ArtRave I created the Boutiques on the standalone pages as they were easy work with and copy into ads on other websites.

The free groups I had pretty much set up and left alone, so that artists could choose to post their art directly bypassing the gallery and going to the subjects of their art and posting there, There was then an upgrade about a year ago adding pages to the groups. This opened a new way to expand on the site and to start congregating pages into the subjects they pertained to, Still I was unclear as to what to do about the back pages which at that point numbered more than 500 back pages – far more than many larger websites use!!

Whenever a link happened to break or need to be changed, it was alot of work just to find the page as less than 10 would show per index page and there was no order to them so I would have to go through up to 50 pages with 10 links to pages in each and open and close pages til I found what I was looking for.

i knew there had to be a better way but was uncertain as to what it was. I attemped to make title page indexes but some pages contained several subjects and working that way for a while was too time consuming.

Also our members list was mixed up compared to what we needed to know and place although the search box proved helpful, much of it relied on my memory.I was uncertain how I would be able to remember everything and how would I train anyone else to work with me when the site was becoming more and more complicated to navigate as it grew.

New members were having a hard time with the changes and there was an absence from a good portion of old members who had come, set up pages and posted art and then never returned. Separating them from active members was also a difficult task.

I didnt want to simply delete old members as some were coming, but just not posting anything new,

I began separating the members into categories of ones I knew had posted within 90 days and those who hadnt. Also I didnt want active’s members works being lost in the shuffle.
Once I got a fix on it, I was able to write the membership and ask members to update their profiles. Many did,but then many didnt. Of those who didnt I then placed them on an inactive list and once the platform host [ning] enabled member deletion without banning that made it easier to be able to delete and inactive member without casting them out.

My artists are important to me and I want to make sure they can return should they choose to, Some indeed wanted to leave and yet left their pages and galleries abandoned while others didnt abandon their pages or galleries but were simply inactive fore a variety of reasons.

The Artists A-Z is now included with Gallery memberships and is among those orphan pages being converted into groups. Each A-Z page has a featured slideshow from some member which is rotated between the members of their “letter”.Also provided are unique Artist ID#s meant to be added to your keywords or tags that will help get your work indexed by the Google bots.

New members have been arriving and I have been trying to walk them through but as I did I began noticing that things that worked 5 years ago, didnt necessarily apply anymore so alot of updating became necessary. That meant the back pages ahd to be purged, merged and in some cases deleted.

Older members needed to become the examples for the new ones to follow.I still needed to learn more about how to tie it all together to make navigation easier for both members and viewers.

Working within the parameters of the features of the platform, its pointed back to the utilization of the groups function.In the beginning I thought to use them primarily for the categories pertaining to most members artwork. The gallery. was large enough to bring in viewers yet small enough to get lots of views per member in comparison to Fine Art America which has about 100,000 artists and more mini sites within its domain, leaving it where art gets lost as there is only so much a viewer will look through and they needed keywords, types and subjects to find the art they were searching for.

Some groups were made to be used as ‘directories’ with artists links to their websites on other PODs such as Fine Art America, Zazzle, Imagekind, Redbubble etc so that viewers could see an artist name here and click it to then be transferred to their websites, thus increasing traffic to their stores online.There was however no way to monitor the usage, other than testing it and seeing that sites were gaining viewers.

Utilizing the html text boxes on site proved to be handy as well since t hey hold java scripts and also button links so those who wanted to, could make paypal buttons from the paypal site, copy the html codes and place them on their MyPage text box and accept payments from customers directly.. With the new page function on groups, that enables those buttons to be used there as well. Discussions featuring artists with slideshows from their galleries or thumbnails from their other sites then became another good way to promote and advertise their art.

So now this year I have been working on the back pages, migrating them, into the groups and making new groups as needed and organizing them for the purposes that can best serve us as artists and viewers as potential buyers.

Other sites charge for Classified Ads. We do not.

Our free classifieds get posted here but the links to the menu are on other sites and blogs, planted in many places over the net over the passed 5 years.That means if an artist posts a picture and its details in the comments in Abstracts [for example] that every other site where the menu is posted gives access to that post~!! Also the cross promotions and increased traffic gets indexed by google searchbots and builds rankings in search engines.

With more than a billion estimated artists online, art is very competitive and gaining ranking, cross promotions and features, all become vital in getting the artist known online and enabling viewers to see and choose between artists, their works and the sites they sell at. many people shop online so its vital to make it easier for them to find your art above others.

We also have our an online Mall with a lobby that lists artists websites and has preview pages with button links a viewer can click on and be brought to the member’s website or shop.

Its ArtRave’s mission to promote ‘family friendly’ art worldwide, helping emerging and established artists to gain the traffic they need to obtain sales. It is also part of ArtRave to provide advertisement venues that are free or low cost as most artists cant afford the types of advertising that will increase the traffic to their websites.Finally with the numerous PODs many artists use, ArtRave has sought out alternatives in printing to enable artists to make a higher profit from their POD sales and to provide a way artists can get paid first instead of last.

Over the passed year we have conquered many obstacles that will help all artists to get better known, to be able to get discounts in traditional advertising and printing so that they can gain more customers and make better profits.

ArtRave is an artist network, created by an artist, for artists~!!

We now provide dozens of groups and like pages on facebook for artists to post links to their stores.We have our gallery and ads plugged into Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google for all members to use. We have numerous blogs here at ArtRave and copy sites to several at WordPress, netlog, blogger, netblog, tumblr, stumbleupon and more. We have syndicated the ArtRave blog so when its posted, it also gets posted to other sites, facebook groups and pages and twitter.

We have also established our own TopList banner ad sites which can redirect the artists banner to any site they want them to promote.By doing this for ArtRave members collectively we can offer banner ad toplists for only $25 per year and we do not charge the per-clicks as other banner adlists do!

We have standalone pages at another website that provides full page ads on google and other search engines.These ads last for years! Members are welcome to use all of our resources to promote their art and can place comment ads on any of our blogs and outsourced pages.

For those who do not know how to do these things, we have our forum with how-to-do screenshot tutorials.For those who haven’t the time to do their own advertising and promotions we have promo packages available to place permanent ads up for you~!!

ArtRave is all inclusive and overall provides more services than any other art network online.

So now, I like to welcome all the new members and say hello to all our older members and reach out to our Facebook friends and extend the invitation to all to come and join us, either as a free member and use the ads and blogs or as a Gallery member and use all our facilities.

We also now offer low cost printing services and shops at our print site for all gallery members.

While the site has gone through numerous changes the passed few weeks, they are in preparation for the 3.0 upgrade we are soon going to be having. preparing the site ahead of time is so the migration can go smoothly and so we can save as much of the history of the site as possible as we transition.

To date ArtRave has had nearly 64K unique visitors and over 130K page views Divide that among the art on site and our members are looking pretty exclusive in comparison to the bigger sites~!We are ArtRave and we are growing in the right direction~!

I have just listed a few dozen ebay auctions with reduced priced art and art products to go to some of the relief organizations in Tacloban and surrounding areas that are already helping.
While I am waiving my own costs and not seeking to profit or exploit this terrible human situation, I have things to donate which can be converted to money on ebay & by listing them with the Ebay Giving Works, the money will go to where it belongs and is needed.
I will continue to liquidate art and art products below costs so that those who are doing holiday shopping can do both their shopping, find great deals [many are doing this not just me] while a portion of the proceeds will go to the relief organizations.
I have donated what funds I could to the Team Rubicon and also to the Samaritan’s Purse as they are on the ground right now working to help save people in the Philippines. I pray for all the victims, I empathize with their suffering & wish the aid they need so desperately begins to flow in there faster. They are on islands, with no where to run when things like this happens,.As bad as tornadoes and hurricanes are here in the US at least people can run and there are enough to help when needed, despite how hard things are getting for many here in the US, we still have it better than people who are suffering in places like the Philippines. Anyone can just go on Ebay and go look up their Giving Works and they have listed many great organizations that are helping in t he Philippines now and if you cant donate something to benefit them, perhaps you can see something you might like to buy and can benefit them by making purchases designated to help them.

As of Nov 22,2013 there have been reports of over 5235 men women and children who have been confirmed dead as a result of Typhoon Haiyan. An estimate varies from 3-5 Million people who have been displaced as their homes and possession were destroyed. Infrastructure to the many island towns and cities in the typhoon’s path revealed utter devastation of epic proportions.

Due to the nature and vastness of the destruction, relief efforts had been greatly hampered. Still unknown amount of people, an estimate of at least 1600 remain missing and now presumed dead.Survivors left with rubble and decaying bodies, many still buried beneath the rubble. The stench, lack of water, food, medicine and shelter has presented a more dire need that cries out to the world for help as this is more than any nation could bare alone, especially an impoverished nation such as the Philippines.

Meanwhile during its aftermath, we experienced some devastating storms here in the United States, tornadoes that tore through the midwest, creating surreal landscapes similar to some seen in the Philippines.Despite the storms of the Midwest, Americans like many others in the world, already stretched to their limits during this difficult economic time, with approaching holiday season and high unemployment is digging deep into their pockets as well as various charitable groups are rallying and going to meet and help the victims both in the Philippines and here in the Midwest, to alleviate some of their suffering.

Samaritan’s Purse, an organization run by Franklin Graham, who has gone to numerous calamities such as Haiti and Hurricane Sandy, to help as needed, providing labor, water, food , medical supplies and comfort are on the ground in the Philippines working in cooperation with other relief agencies, along with the ex military, EMTs & SAR experts of Team Rubicon are out with the survivors helping them to get their lives started over. Doctors Without Borders and WHO and many others are there from many nations,lending assistance.There are numerous organizations [too many to name them all] sending in relief workers coordinating their efforts with other relief agencies, together, trying rising to meet the needs of the Philippino people, as well as teams deployed here in the US helping the people in the areas devastated by last week’s tornado outbreak.

Their efforts and willingness to help are commendible and courageous. What they need to keep on helping is funding so that they can continue helping.

While many of us have given nominal donations, its going to take alot to help reestablish 5-6 Million people to be able to rebuild their lives.

That is why I am join in with Ebay Giving Works and selecting various organizations that are on the ground and helping the people and why I am designating my auctions to donate as much as possible towards the relief efforts.Many others are also donating auctions to help, so if you are shopping on ebay please look up the Ebay Giving Works auctions and bid on them.

I have items which I have cut their prices in half to auction, to provide donations to these agencies as well as to provide art and art products at reduced costs so that those who are currently shopping for holiday gifts, can find the bargains they seek while helping those in need.

In this auction, I am offering a special edition of my artwork called “The Sunset of Hope” that I digitally painted after my former husband died.I painted it during my time of grief and to me it depicts hope for tomorrow with a vibrant sunset in the bay having both a light house and a monolithic cross guarding the mouth of its harbor.

In this special limited edition of hand signed and numbered continental size art postcards, which were printed on acid free card stock and are meant for framing, the reverse side is in grayscale with its title, my name and contact info.

I am offering this as a simple thankyou,for helping to send relief to peoplewho are in dire need of help and will need help for the foreseeable future.

At least 75% of the proceeds from this auction will go directly to the relief agency or organization mentioned above.

Each art postcard will be signed both front and back and also numbered and dated on the back.The remainder will cover the print company’s cost, ebay & paypal fees and shipping to the winner. I am not doing this for any profit ,as it is my desire to help these people, both in the Philippines and the Midwest, as the organizations I am selecting, are helping in both places as, well as in other places where people have been devastated by some natural calamites.

Thankyou for your generosity in helping others who need your help and not turning away from them.

As of Nov 18th this map shows the path of the typhoon and many of the places affected.

Using Silverlight software compatible programming its now easier than ever to upload a picture from your computer to create any of over 584 art products for home, gifts and office~!

I just made this messenger bag with a photo of my artwork in under 3 minutes~!

Whether its a family portrait, a favorite place, a sunset or a painting, you can now go directly into ArtRaveSuper Center’s Make-Your-Own

and within minutes see your pic on stretch canvas, cards, clocks, shower curtains, watches, jewelry, t-shirts, and so many more things~!

I am having alot of fun using the product creator and making new art products to sell with my own artwork on them~! It is amazing how fast it is and I like the option to be able to custom order a piece and have it sent to a friend as a gift or to have a piece made to fulfill and auction sale~!

There are so many possibilities on what you can do at www.ArtRaveSuperCenter.com~!

While you can always use for the site for personal or one time use, you can also open a free store to store your creations for future orders and sales~!

If you are an artist and want to offer your art to the public for sale

where you can set the prices

and have a retail store of your own,

simply register at ArtRave SuperCenter

and select the type of store you would like~!

You can have a free store just as you do on any POD site, but you will earn more money in sales since our prices are below wholesale in most scenarios and always lower than any other POD store site like CP, Zaz…,Fine ArtA… and so on.

I really appreciate making it through yet another year and with my focus in developing my http://www.ArtRave .com – which is promoting ‘family values’ in art online ~ I have now opened its companion fulfillment site ~

http://www.ArtRaveSuperCenter.com wher artists & ANYONE can go and select from over 584+ art related printable products that you simply upload a pic & your product is created within

48 hrs and on its way to where you want it to go~!

As the Distributor/Wholesaler of this site I am able to make everything less expensive than EVERY POD out there while not sacrificing qualuity but with can offer you all the same or better quality than most other PODs~!

This has been the beginning of the realization of a dream I have had to help other artists online , in as much as I have been promoting family friendly artists online now for the passed several years , I can now offer them the best place in the world to have their art produced at for sale.

Great day for a birthday 🙂 Great day for ArtRave with ArtRave SuperCenter now being born 🙂